If there’s an event that is Rory McIlroy’s kryptonite, besides the Masters, then it might be the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The Northern Irishman is part of the star-studded field set to descend on the tournament from January 30, with the winner to take home a cool $3.6million (£2.9million).
But if McIlroy is to emerge with the seven-figure prize, he will have to banish the demons of his previous two outings at Pebble Beach.
They just happen to be the only times he has competed in the event.
The first of those was in 2018, the year McIlroy made his AT&T Pro-Am debut.
From the outset, it looked like it would be an event to remember as McIlroy would play with his father, Gerry, in the pro-am event.
But his tournament came undone in the second round after a staggering capitulation with the putter.
McIlroy, who sat five-under-par, was well on his way to a strong score on the par-four fifth hole as his drive landed on the edge of the green.
The Northern Irishman’s first putt rolled to the left of the hole but stopped only a few feet away, setting him up for what looked like a likely birdie.
But McIlroy missed, prompting sighs from a handful of patrons.
Perhaps a little frustrated, 12 seconds separated his missed putt for birdie and his putt for par.
It proved to be an unwise move as McIlroy missed his third putt in quick succession.
PGA Tour on YouTubeMcIlroy was an unlikely chance to card an eagle on a par-four hole[/caption]
Now on a bogey, McIlroy slowed down his routine to regain some composure.
Yet his score ballooned further after that effort ran long.
The four-time major winner put himself and the crowd out of their misery when he holed for double bogey with his fifth putt on the hole.
McIlroy eventually finished the second round at three-over, but his bleak outing at Pebble Beach that year was not done yet.
With an under-par score required on Saturday to make the cut, McIlroy carded three bogeys over the final five holes on the front nine to fall short.
Speaking afterwards, McIlroy said he ‘let the greens get in my head a little bit’ and it ‘was hard to get out of that mindset.’
PGA Tour on YouTubeThe Northern Irishman didn’t know where to long after missing four putts[/caption]
McIlroy did not compete at Pebble Beach for another six years, making his return in 2024.
It seemed that the time away had proved to be a wise call, as McIlroy led the field thanks to a blistering start in which he was six-under through 14.
However, McIlroy’s round was soured by three bogeys on his final four holes.
Yet the worst was yet to come.
McIlroy was informed by tournament officials he would have to sign for a triple-bogey eight at the par-five seventh as he was caught unaware from a recent rule change.
On the seventh, McIlroy decided to take relief due to the ‘unplayable ball’ rule, which grants permission for a player to move the ball back-on-line with the pin at the cost of a penalty strike.
McIlroy did this, but he dropped his ball one club-length to the side.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, he evidently did not know that move was outlawed in January 2023.
Speaking to the Golf Channel, rules official Mark Dusbabek explained the rule change and stated McIlroy was ‘very professional’ about his error.
“When the rules changed in 2023, back-of-the-line relief – you still go back of the line, in line with the flagstick from where the ball is,” Dusbabek said.
“However, you have to drop it on that line and it can roll in any direction, even forward, one club-length.
“Rory, from that line, dropped one club length to the side, which makes it a wrong place and a two-stroke penalty.”
Dusbabek added: “Rory was met in scoring by our chief referee Steven Cox and he totally owned the mistake, very professional about it, and admitted to the rules mistake.”
The unfortunate penalty dropped McIlroy into the bottom half of the leaderboard on one-under.
McIlroy’s score put him eight shots behind leader Thomas Detry, although it was Wyndham Clark who ultimately prevailed with a score of seventeen-under.
As for McIlroy, he finished 66th on the leaderboard.
The 35-year-old will hope – and perhaps expect – an improved performance when the 2025 Pebble Beach Pro-Am commences on January 30.
